William Shakespeare(/ˈʃeɪkspɪər/;26 April 1564 (baptised) – 23 April 1616) was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.
Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. At age 49 around 1613, he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, which has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, religious beliefs and whether the works attributed to him were written by others. Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613.His early plays were primarily comedies and histories, which are regarded as some of the best work ever produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances and collaborated with other playwrights. Click on to the below link to know more on William Shakespeare.
SUMMARY AT A GLANCE Shakespeare considers the world a stage and men and women actors on the stage of life. They play seven roles according to their age. The first stage, as described by the poet, is the infant who is being carried by a nurse. The infant cries and vomits all the time. Later, that infant grows into a schoolboy, not willing to attend school which is the fourth stage of a man’s life. The third stage is that of a lover who is lost in his thoughts of love. The lover writes poetry to his lady’s beauty. In the fourth stage, as he grows older, he joins the army and becomes a soldier. He is physically fit and is aggressive, short-tempered and ambitious in nature. The fifth stage shows that with maturity and wisdom, the family man becomes a judge. He is a fair, healthy man full of wisdom. His look is authoritative and he advises people. The sixth stage is about the man who has grown old and is seen in a pantaloon and spectacles. His authoritative voice has grown weak and his voice trembles as he talks. The last stage is about the senile man who loses his teeth, his vision and his hearing. After this, the man part in the play ends and he exits from the stages of his life forever.
SIMILIE/METAPHOR /EXTENDED METAPHOR A simile establishes the comparison of ideas using the words ‘as’ or ‘like’. For example: An endless torrent of rain flooded the valleylike a tsunami.
A metaphor can be used to replace one idea with another. For example, a Tsunami can be described as a "wave of destruction" for the damage that it causes. Tsunami is a wave of destruction . It implies a comparison without the words ‘as’ or ‘like’. An Extended Metaphor, also known as a conceit or sustained metaphor, is when we exploit a single metaphor at length through multiple linked nouns or instances throughout a poem or story. For Example : Refer the first three lines of ‘Seven Ages’ Here world is compared to stage; all the people to players or actors; Exits and entrance are then compared to life and death.
ASSESSMENT:
Compare Shakespeare’s Seven ages’ depiction with your own life experiences. State the fact ‘Shakespeare’s works are still relevant in this era of 21st century.
SEVEN AGES OF MAN
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. At age 49 around 1613, he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, which has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, religious beliefs and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613.His early plays were primarily comedies and histories, which are regarded as some of the best work ever produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances and collaborated with other playwrights.
Click on to the below link to know more on William Shakespeare.
Shakespeare considers the world a stage and men and women actors on the stage of life. They play seven roles according to their age. The first stage, as described by the poet, is the infant who is being carried by a nurse. The infant cries and vomits all the time. Later, that infant grows into a schoolboy, not willing to attend school which is the fourth stage of a man’s life. The third stage is that of a lover who is lost in his thoughts of love. The lover writes poetry to his lady’s beauty. In the fourth stage, as he grows older, he joins the army and becomes a soldier. He is physically fit and is aggressive, short-tempered and ambitious in nature.
The fifth stage shows that with maturity and wisdom, the family man becomes a judge. He is a fair, healthy man full of wisdom. His look is authoritative and he advises people. The sixth stage is about the man who has grown old and is seen in a pantaloon and spectacles. His authoritative voice has grown weak and his voice trembles as he talks. The last stage is about the senile man who loses his teeth, his vision and his hearing. After this, the man part in the play ends and he exits from the stages of his life forever.
SIMILIE/METAPHOR /EXTENDED METAPHOR
A simile establishes the comparison of ideas using the words ‘as’ or ‘like’.
For example: An endless torrent of rain flooded the valley like a tsunami.
A metaphor can be used to replace one idea with another. For example, a Tsunami can be described as a "wave of destruction" for the damage that it causes. Tsunami is a wave of destruction . It implies a comparison without the words ‘as’ or ‘like’.
An Extended Metaphor, also known as a conceit or sustained metaphor, is when we exploit a single metaphor at length through multiple linked nouns or instances throughout a poem or story.
For Example : Refer the first three lines of ‘Seven Ages’ Here world is compared to stage; all the people to players or actors; Exits and entrance are then compared to life and death.
ASSESSMENT: